Posts in Nutrition
Calories in vs Calories Out, It’s That Simple (or is it?)
Calories in vs Calories Out, It’s That Simple (or is it?)

If you have ever struggled to lose or gain weight, I guarantee you have at some point heard the advice: 

“You just need to eat more/less than you burn”

The person that typically says this kind of thing most likely also holds the belief that being overweight or having obesity is a result of pure laziness or a lack of morals. At the surface level, this advice is correct. However, it is correct in the same way that going to a football game and telling the head coach of your team “Hey pal, you just gotta score more points than the other team and you’ll win” is correct. Correct, but very unhelpful and lacks any understanding on what contributes to the scoring of points. 

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NutritionAshley Beaverweight loss, fat loss, muscle gain, gaining muscle, flexible dieting, calories, diet, dieting, exerciseComment
Your Simplified Grocery Guide
Your Simplified Grocery Guide

In this grocery guide, we have broken down everything you need to create a balanced and healthy meal plan. We suggest how many items to pick from each category, including your major macronutrients like proteins, carbohydrates, and healthy fats, as well as micronutrient-rich fruits and veggies, quick snacks, and seasonings to add flavor to your meals.

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NutritionAshley Beavergrocery, shopping, guide, grocery store, help, flexible dieting, Black Iron Nutrition, grocery shopping, smart decisions, RyannComment
23.2 Nutrition Strategies from our Performance Team
23.2 Nutrition Strategies from our Performance Team

The secret to success here is carbs- you’re going to need all of your glycogen stores for this one, and we’re even going to try and sneak in some refueling mid-workout. For all athletes: we are again suggesting a refeed the day before you compete, but this weeks will be a bit more substantial. In addition to your daily allotment of carbs - we suggest anywhere from a 30-50% surplus of carbs to keep your muscle glycogen stores packed for the WOD.

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Nutrition, FitnessAshley Beavercrossfit, performance, nutrition, nutrient timing, carbs, workoutComment
2023 Crossfit Game Open Nutrition Strategy
2023 Crossfit Game Open Nutrition Strategy

It’s the ~Most Wonderful Time of the Year~!!! The OPEN! The Open is a celebration. It’s a time for every crossfitter to test themselves, to immerse more deeply in their community, to compete, have fun and learn some stuff. Whether you’re trying to get to the next stage, or trying to get your first muscle up or string those dubs together, we are here to help you make sure you don’t have to stress about the food side of things.

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Fitness, NutritionAshley Beaversports performance, performance goals, nutrition, dieting, nutrient timing, crossfit, crossfit gamesComment
Sleep: The missing piece in your health & fitness puzzle
Sleep: The missing piece in your health & fitness puzzle

In the world of health and fitness, there's a lot of emphasis on exercise, nutrition, and supplements. But there's one crucial factor that often gets overlooked: sleep. It's easy to fall into the trap of thinking that more exercise, more supplements, or a new diet plan will be the solution to your health and fitness goals. But the truth is, without enough sleep, all those efforts may be in vain.

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Nutrition, FitnessAshley BeaverMargaux, Sleep, nutrition, performance, flexible dieting, macros, hydration, habits, diet, dieting, weight loss, fat loss, muscle gainComment
Are you eating enough?
Are you eating enough?

Many people are quick to blame nagging health issues on their food habits and often rightfully so. But they’re more likely to pin it on over-eating when often the root of the issue is actually the opposite. Under-eating is VERY common. We’ve conditioned ourselves to believe that eating less  = better life. The truth is that’s not always true. I know, I KNOW, this is the opposite of what you’ve believed your whole life! Eating too little is just as unhealthy as eating too much.

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NutritionAshley Beaverundereating, diet, dieting, macros, flexible dieting, weight loss, fat loss, calorie counting, healthy habits, JoyceComment
Your nutrition should be periodized – just like your training
Your nutrition should be periodized – just like your training

While I'm not proud of it, when I first started losing weight, I was 100% into cut mode every day 24/7. I didn't have the slightest clue as to what a real maintenance period was, because I thought that was something you only did once you reached your ‘goal weight’. I also didn’t realize I was doing more harm than good by trying to be in a straight deficit for a majority of the year. Maintenance is where so much of the magic happens; habits are built, there’s more flexibility with food choices and social gatherings, cortisol levels are lower, and energy is higher.

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NutritionAshley BeaverAshley Truex, Nutrition, dieting, reverse diet, cut, weight loss, fat loss, bulkingComment
The best time of day to eat for maximizing performance & fat loss
The best time of day to eat for maximizing performance & fat loss

Nutrient timing is generally discussed in relation to two things: the circadian rhythm, which are your natural internal processes that ebb and flow, and repeat every 24 hours or so; and timing around training sessions. In this article, I will discuss how each of those can affect weight/fat loss, and then separately discuss performance implications.

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Nutrition, FitnessAshley BeaverChris, fat loss, macros, nutrient timing, micronutrients, Performance, nutrition, dietComment
Want to lose fat and keep it off?
Want to lose fat and keep it off?

We know the statistics. The majority of our clients come to us with fat loss as their main goal. Before joining Black Iron Nutrition, many have tried every diet under the sun. Keto. Paleo. Intermittent Fasting. Carnivore. Vegan. Vegetarian. They’ve tried other nutrition companies – and have found themselves on dangerously low calories. And while we won’t deny that they saw results initially – they weren’t able to sustain their results in the long-term. Many end up right back where they started.

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NutritionAshley BeaverLifestyle, dieting, macros, beginner, flexible dieting, weight loss, fat lossComment
Should your cut be aggressive?
Should your cut be aggressive?

The best approach is one that you can maintain throughout the duration of the cut.

An aggressive approach can be more rewarding as progress is faster.

However, it is more challenging to remain consistent as it requires a greater degree of disciple. This can be especially challenging in social situations.

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NutritionAshley BeaverEmiComment
How to change your thoughts around food and diet culture
How to change your thoughts around food and diet culture

When we start making nutrition changes, I think we all start looking for “progress”, and that’s fair! Progress photos and measurements are so useful, but we CANNOT overlook our mental progress. We can't only feel good about ourselves when we’re eating all the “right” foods, or when we’ve seen progress in the form of a smaller waist. If we’re solely focused on eating “healthy” and “good” foods all of the time, and then hate ourselves the second we eat something “unhealthy,” I’d argue that’s not very healthy at all.

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Mindset, NutritionAshley BeaverSam, Diet culture, nutrition, weight loss, dieting, flexible dieting, thriveComment
How to achieve your ideal body
How to achieve your ideal body

It is really common to see clients mention in the first few weeks or months of working with a nutrition coach that they’re disappointed when they see the scale go up.

From experience, many clients come to a nutrition coach chronically dieting, eating in a caloric deficit, or undereating for longer than 3-6 months. It is imperative that they reverse diet back up to at LEAST their maintenance calories and spend at least 3-6 months eating enough food to boost their metabolic rate. This will allow them to lose more weight effectively in the future. Your metabolism slows down when you eat lower calories, so as calories increase, your metabolism should increase as well.

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Mindset, NutritionAshley BeaverLauren Steppe, nutrition, weight loss, fat loss, body comp, macros, flexible dietingComment